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Labor dispute may cost state $17 million; the earliest the tunneling machine could be fixed is March 2015

April 22, 2014

According to Crosscut[1], the state may be on the hook for $17.6 million due to the labor dispute that shut the tunnel project down for about a month. Last year, unions argued over four dirt hauling jobs that resulted in picket lines even though the Project Labor Agreement assured there would be no labor unrest.

This news comes at a time when the contractor on the project estimates it will cost an additional $125 million[2] or more to get the tunneling machine in working order after it hit a steel pipe last December. The party responsible for footing the bill is still unclear. The contractor and the state predict that the machine will be fixed by March 2015.